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Over the last 12 months, the NHL has been dealing with bigger problems.

But oh-so quietly, Gary Bettman’s league has spent time lobbying the Canadian government to kill a proposed change to the criminal code that would see single-game sports betting legalized across the country.

New Jersey knows all-too-well what can happen when professional sports leagues with major clout get involved, as it’s currently embroiled in a court battle with the four Goliaths — the NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB — and the federal government.

North of the border, a bill that was once seen as a slam dunk, could now be on thin ice.

“We are strongly opposed to the bill, and we have made that position clear to the Senate,” NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said this week via e-mail.

But why are they opposed? That’s the question.

One recently retired NHL veteran who did not want to be named said he has never gambled on hockey — even now — but sees no reason why people shouldn’t be allowed to place a bet.

“I gamble, so I’ve got nothing against it,” the former NHLer said, noting it’s mainly Sport Select football wagers. “I know people struggle with gambling and have lost a lot of money, but there are casinos everywhere and it’s legitimate. It’s not like everybody has a bookie.”

There’s the catch. Technically, sports betting is already legal in this country. Depending on the province, gamblers can head to the corner store and place a parlay bet on a minimum of two or three teams — two on point spread, three on moneyline wagers — and walk out with ticket in hand.

The last time senators tackled Bill C-290 was during a Nov. 8, 2012, meeting, where the NHL’s written statement was submitted, and a representative from Simon Fraser University argued the school would have trouble gaining full-time entry into the NCAA if Canada legalized sports betting.

“Such wagering poses perhaps the greatest threat to the integrity of our games, since it is far easier to engage in ‘match-fixing’ in order to win single-game bets than it is in cases of parlay betting [as currently exists in Canada], where bets are determined on the basis of multiple game outcomes,” the NHL wrote in a statement to the Senate.

The former NHLer disagreed.

“I can see where it’s coming from, but do they think it would be an issue in the NHL?” he said. “I played 15 years and never heard any guys talk about gambling on hockey games. I think hockey is too hard to gamble on, because a hot goalie can change a game.

“The goalie is the only guy who can directly make a difference,” he added. “As a player, what can you do? I guess take a couple of penalties, but if you take two stupid penalties, you’ll be sitting on the bench and won’t get back on the ice.

“I’ve never bet on hockey and never would.”

One NCAA rule says championship play cannot take place in any jurisdiction that has single-game wagering. Nevada is a grandfathered exception.

The NCAA’s stance usually revolves around the fact that players are not paid, and are therefore more susceptible to cash offers from organized crime syndicates looking to fix games.

But the NFL and NHL employ multi-millionaires.

Conservative Senator Bob Runciman doesn’t understand it and pointed to the fact both the NHL and NFL have looked into expansion overseas, where single-game sports betting has been legal for years in many places.

“I find it curious, passing strange, that (the NFL) can have one position in terms of fighting New Jersey or opposing this legislation, but when they see a dollar on the horizon in Great Britain, it is not a problem,” Runciman is on record as saying in Senate transcripts.

“I am not sure that providing a legal and transparent option (to bet on games) will necessarily in any way, shape or form increase availability,” Runciman later added. “The betting activity out there now is enormous, and the bulk of it is going offshore and much of it to organized crime.”

The bill sailed through the House of Commons last year and if the Senate ends up shooting it down, it would mark the first time the Upper Chamber has rejected legislation that MPs passed unanimously.

Wild Rose MP Blake Richards, who supported the bill originally brought forth by NDP Windsor-Tecumseh MP Joe Comartin, says he’s not sure when a third and final Senate reading will happen, but it could be as early as April.

It’s pretty obvious money talks, and this is a battle with big money on both sides.

NHL among those opposed to single-game betting

Over the last 12 months, the NHL has been dealing with bigger problems.

But oh-so quietly, Gary Bettman’s league has spent time lobbying the Canadian government to kill a proposed change to the criminal code that would see single-game sports betting legalized across the country.

New Jersey knows all-too-well what can happen when professional sports leagues with major clout get involved, as it’s currently embroiled in a court battle with the four Goliaths — the NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB — and the federal government.

North of the border, a bill that was once seen as a slam dunk, could now be on thin ice.

“We are strongly opposed to the bill, and we have made that position clear to the Senate,” NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said this week via e-mail.

But why are they opposed? That’s the question.

One recently retired NHL veteran who did not want to be named said he has never gambled on hockey — even now — but sees no reason why people sh